Fuel-saving device for automobiles



Nov. 3 1925.

A. V. ROWE FUEL SAVING DEVICE FOR AUTOMOBILES Filed July 2, 1920 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVL'NTOR- Nov. 3, 1925- A. V. ROWE FUEL SAVING DEVICE FOR AUTOIOBILBS Filed July 2, 1920 2 Shuts-Sheet Patented Nov. 3, 1925.

UNITED; STATES ALVIN v. Rownor GALESBURG, ILLINOIS, AssreNoR no G. E. co ter, or amvwoon,

ILLINOIS.

, FUEL-SAVING DEVICE FOR AUTOMOBILES.

AppIication filed July 2, 1920. Serial H'o. 393,710.

To aZZ w7z0m it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALVIN V. ROWE, a citizen of the United States, a resident of Galesburg, in the county of Knox and 'State' I of Illinois, have invented new and useful Improvements in Fuel-Saving Devices for Automobiles,of which the following is a specification.

This invention has reference to ameans or mechanism for simultaneously actuating by and with the spark lever' of an automobile, the valve controlling the supply offuel,

such as gasoline, or the like, to the carbureter.

The principal object of the invention is to provide for the saving of gas during the operation of the automobile, by connecting the spark lever and spark rod with the fuel supply valve of the carbureter; whereby, when 29 the spark lever is moved to retard the spark,

' additional fuel is supplied to the carbureter,

and when the spark lever is moved to advance the spark, the fuel supply is lessened.

While my invention will be found applicable to different makes of automobiles, I

have designed it, and it is here shown and described as applied to the spark lever, spark rod and carbureter of a Ford automobile.

The Ford car is provided with a forked rod having connection with a T bar which controls the needle valve used to regulate the supply of fuel, such as gasoline, to the carbureter. The amount of fuel consumed may be regulated if the driver would operate this forked rod after the engine was warmed up, but very few, if any drivers pay attention to this phase of their driving, more particularly because this forked rod is located on the right hand side of andunder the dash of the car where it is very" difficult to get at, and further, because very few drivers realize the importance or saving which may be effected by the use of this forkedrod. 'WVith the use of my attachment, connecting as it does the T bar of the carbureter with the spark lever and spark'rod, the driver, when moving the Spark lever will automatically andsimultaneously effect the movement of the needle valve controlling the fuel supply, and'oper'ate it to increase ondecrease, he fuel'sup'ply and effect a'fcon sidera-ble savingfin' the cost, of operating his car, without the necessity of his having in mind thej cost'of operations, which. is taken care of by my attachment.- f

The needle valve controlling the fuel supply to the carbureter is adjusted, as will be intended with the use of the forked rod men;

tioned, to make it possible for the driver to regulate such valve as he may see fit. attachment does not change this condition, leaving the forked rod free to be manipu-, lated whenever desired and without disturbing the connections of my attachment be tween the To bar and the spark lever and spark rod. I a

That the invention may be'more fully understood, reference is had to the accompany ing drawings, forming a part of the description, showing a preferred embodiment of the invention, in which Figure 1 is more orless a diagrammatic side elevation showing my invention ap plied to the spark lever,'spark rod and carbureter of a f Ford automobile;

' Figure 2 is a plan view of the attachment shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a detail in plan of themechanism attachable direct to the T bar of the carbureter;

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3, except that the forked rod has been partially turned, releasing a locking means prepara tory to adjusting the fuel supply valve;

Figure 5 is a cross-section as the same would appear on the line 5-5 Figure 3, parts being shown in full lines; 7

Figure 6 is a'detail cross-section as the same would appear if taken on the'line 6-'6 Figure 3, and '4 .1

Figure 7 shows two different elevations of a clamp member for connecting an operating rodto the spark rod.

Like characters of reference denote corresponding parts throughout the figures.

In Figure 1 ofthe drawings so much of the body and hood of a Ford automobile is illustrated in dotted lines to illustrate the application of the invention to the spark lever, spark rod and the oarbureter. -The hood is designated A,the dash B and the engine C. D refers to the steering post having the; hand'steering wheel E and extending along-side of and parallel with said post'is the spark rod'E 7"provided"with the spark lever Gj, Within'easy reach of the operator as he grasps "the hand steering I whee-1 4111. H designatesthecarburetor to be grasped by the driver when he desires .to turn the forked rod K to operate the T bar to open or close the needle valve, not shown, and regulate the supply of fuel to the carbureter. All the foregoing parts are well known and their functions well understood by drivers of Ford automobiles, and by those versed in the art of automobile constructions, and their uses'need not be further elaborated on here.

My attachment includes a plate or disk 1, having the spaced diametrically disposed openings 2 to receive bolts 3 which pass through the openings y' in the T bar and engageable by nuts 4. Said bolts and nuts secure the plate or disk to the T bar. This plate or disk 1 is further provided with an are shaped slot 5 and with an opening 6. Said slot 5 and last mentioned opening are diametrically disposed and at right angles to the disposition of theopenings 2 in the said plate ordisk. Instead of the legs'lc of the rod K being inserted through the openings j in the head of the T bar, they enter through the slot 5 and the opening 6, and through this connection when the driver wishes to adjust the needle valve, not shown, through the T bar, he merely turns the forked rod K in the direction desired.

The plate or disk 1 is rotatably carried by an annular toothed ring 7, by locating the plate or disk 1 in the ring between two or more lugs 8, and the internally disposed annular toothed ring 9, see Figures 3 and 5. As will more fully appear, the plate or disk 1 may be turned with the ring 7 or turned by the forked rod F independently of said ring. Y Connected with the purebrdisk 1 is a spring rod 10. Lookingat' Figures 3 and 4, one endof said spring rodis connected at 11 to'the plate or disk 1, "preferably by "weldi'ng and crossing the slot'5, its opposite end passes through" a 'guide"12' and enters between the teeth ofthe'toothed rings; Co-' incident with the-slot 5'the rod lO'is formed with a coil One of the legs of the forked rod K passes "through the coil 13 and the other le'g Z? of-said' rod K'passes through the opening'fi in the'plate' or disk .lj' l ll' gside of the spring-rodlO so that the latter may I "bear thereagainst, ,see Figures 3 renew, i 1 ,1; 5

the"forked" rod"K is turned, "itS "1 When leg is in the slot 5 moves to the end of said slot which will release the free end of the spring rod 10, as shown in Figure 4, when the plate or disk 1 and the T bar may be givenrotational movement to adjust the needle valve, not shown, controllin the fuel supply to the carbureter. When tlie forked rod K is released, the end of the spring rod 10 re-enters a tooth of the toothed ring 9. The spring rod 10 when in the position shown in Figure 1, in a tooth of the toothed ring 9 locks the ring 7 and the plate or disk 1 so that the ring and plate or disk may be actuated together from thespark rod F in manner, as I shall now explain.

The ring 7 is formed or provided with an extension 1 1 with which may be detachably connected the rod 15 which passes between the cylinders of the engine to the other side of the hood where it is coupled to a clamp 16 secured to the spark rod F. It will thus be observed that when the driver oscillates the spark lever G and the spark rod F, a

crosswise reciprocal movement is imparted to the rod 15 which will impart rotational movement to the ring 7, the plate or disk 1, and also to the T bar which will open or partially open, or close or partially close the needle valve, not shown, controlling the fuel supply to the carburetor.

To apply my attachment to the. automobile, the forked rod K is detached'from the T bar and my plate or disk 1 and ring 7 bolted thereto in the manner shown in Figure 6, when the forked rod K is then connected to the plate or disk 1, as already explained. The clamp 16' attached to the spark rod F and the rod 15 coupled to the clamp 16 and the ringi7, the attachment is then in place for use.

In the operation of the device, when the the ring 7 and plate or disk 1 are rotated in a direction to supply'more fuel to the carbureter, and when the spark lever G is moved to advance the spark, the ring 7 and plate or disk 1 are rotated in a direction to shut down the supply of fuel.

'VVith the use of my device, itis obvious that theadvancing of the spark compels the driver to shut off the gas. It will be seen, therefore, that when theengine is running along twenty to thirty miles an hour, the driver may advance his spark, and at the same time, run theautomobile on a le'ss supply of fuel. When climbing a hill, it is presumed that the *spark lever is moved to retard the spark, and atlthe same time that theretarding; takes place, more fuel is given. and, therefore increasing'the power for the purpose of climbing the hill {It is fa well known fact {that pow er is needed to lclimbi a hill, the: lajblithat the spark is retarded, is be cau' 's' 'e' the engine runs less revolutions peri1 imae;-thare quiring the spark to be retarded. When running on level ground, the engine is speeded up and the driver can therefore advance the spark, and at the same time, cut down the supply of fuel, resulting in a great saving of the fuel, all of which it is believed will be understood without further explanation of the uses of the device.

. What I claim is 1. In a fuel saving device for automobiles, in combination, an attachment comprising a plurality of rotatable members, means for connecting said attachment to the fuel control valve of the carbureter, means for imparting rotational movement to one of said members independent of the other members, and means releasably connecting the members together for operating said attachment as an entity by and simultaneously with the spark lever.

2. An attachment for the carbureter of an automobile, comprising an annular ring, a plate rotatably held in said ring, means for connecting said plate to said carbureter, means for rotating the plate independently of the ring, and means to operate the ring and plate in unison.

An attachment for the carbureter of an automobile, comprising an annular ring having an internally arranged toothed ring, a plate rotatably held in said annular ring, means on the plate movable into and out of engagement with said toothed ring, means for connecting said plate to said carbureter, and means to operate the attachment as an entity.

4. An attachment for the carbureter of an automobile, comprising a plate attached able relatively to the plate and connectible to the carbureter through the plate, means having a play connection with the plate to operate the same, and means releasably locking the plate and the second carbureter adjusting member for movement in unison, said locking means being rendered inopera tive by said plate operating means during its play movement.

6. An attachment for the carbureter of an automobile, comprising a plate attached to the carbureter for adjusting the same, a second carbureter adjusting member movable relatively to the plate and connectible to the carbureter through the plate, means having a play connection with the plate to operate the same, and a locking detent carried by the plate and releasably connecting the latter to the second carbureter adjusting member, said detent being rendered inoperative by and during movement of the plate operating means.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto af- ALVIN V. ROWE. 

